Palestinian Islamic Jihad

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (Arabic: حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn), simply known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization. It was formed in 1981.

Islamic Jihad Movement حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين
Founder	Abd Al Aziz Awda
Leader	Fathi Shaqaqi (1981–1995) Ramadan Shalah (1995–2018) Ziyad al-Nakhalah (2018–present)
Dates of operation	October 1981 – present
Split from	Muslim Brotherhood
Country	Palestine
Active regions	Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon
Ideology	Palestinian nationalism Sunni Islamism Islamic fundamentalism Anti-Zionism Antisemitism(alleged)
Size	8,000 (2011)[1]
Part of	Alliance of Palestinian Forces Axis of Resistance
Allies	State allies:  Iran[2]  Syria[3] Non-state allies:  Hezbollah[4]  Hamas
Designated as a terrorist group by	Australia  Canada  European Union  Israel  Japan  New Zealand  United Kingdom  United States
Website	www.saraya.ps

PIJ was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. They reject the Oslo Accords. Their goal is to help create an independent Islamic Palestinian state.^[5] It supports the military destruction of Israel and rejects a two-state solution. They have been supported by Syria and Hezbollah.^[6][7] Their power began to grow faster in 2014 as support from Iran grew.^[8]

References

1. Ben Gedalyahu, Ben (7 November 2011). "Iran Backs Islamic Jihad's 8,000-Man Army in Gaza". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
2. "IRAN UPDATE, OCTOBER 30, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
3. Rudoren, Jodi (3 May 2014). "Islamic Jihad Gains New Traction in Gaza". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
4. "IRAN UPDATE, OCTOBER 30, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
5. BBC Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Who are Islamic Jihad? 9 June 2003
6. "THE TERRORIST CONNECTION - IRAN, THE ISLAMIC JIHAD AND HAMAS". fas.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
7. "Australian Government Attorneys General's Department - Palestinian Islamic Jihad". 20 August 2006. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
8. "The Gaza Strip: Who's in charge?". The Economist. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2017.